Wood

Hello I wanted to know what is the best wood to use for an monitor enclosure? I will be building an 8x4x4 and I'm confused on which wood to use. Also what is the best sealant and paint to use inside. Thanks

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I just used standard 2x4s and plywood for the enclosure (non pressure treated of course). Instead of painting the inside I used some PVC wall panels, and used liquid nail to adhere it to the inside, then used some PVC trim to seal the seams, that way the inside of the enclosure is water proof and I didn't have to worry about sealing the wood or painting.

You could use melamine. Its pretty sturdy and has a water proof coating, it's what i used for my retic tank and i used aquarium sealant for the corners. Melamine can be bought from somewhere like lowes or menards and it comes in 8ft by 4ft sheets so you wouldn't have as much stuff to cut. If you do go for melamine make sure you use 3/4 inch and not the 1/2 inch stuff.

It really depends on how you plan on building your cage, what I mean by that is are you going to have studs with an inner wall and outer wall so you can insulate the cage? If so Melamine (IMO) will end up being way too heavy.

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Originally Posted by jclaiborne

It really depends on how you plan on building your cage, what I mean by that is are you going to have studs with an inner wall and outer wall so you can insulate the cage? If so Melamine (IMO) will end up being way too heavy.

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I don't think he said anything about having a level of insulation?

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Originally Posted by dylan815

You could use melamine. Its pretty sturdy and has a water proof coating, it's what i used for my retic tank and i used aquarium sealant for the corners. Melamine can be bought from somewhere like lowes or menards and it comes in 8ft by 4ft sheets so you wouldn't have as much stuff to cut. If you do go for melamine make sure you use 3/4 inch and not the 1/2 inch stuff.

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If you're planning to put any actual dirt in there melamine will rot very quickly.

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Originally Posted by tegu

If you're planning to put any actual dirt in there melamine will rot very quickly.

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I guess i do use newspaper in mine.... So you say it will rot quickly?? Melamine has a waterproof coating on it.... wouldn't just the surface get icky and not the actual wood?

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Originally Posted by dylan815

I guess i do use newspaper in mine.... So you say it will rot quickly?? Melamine has a waterproof coating on it.... wouldn't just the surface get icky and not the actual wood?

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Water will get through it with the amount of moist dirt in monitor enclosures. Newspaper works fine with it but that is snakes.

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Originally Posted by tegu

Water will get through it with the amount of moist dirt in monitor enclosures. Newspaper works fine with it but that is snakes.

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Thanks for clearing that up. I'm about to start making a tegu enclosure and was going to use melamine........ What wood would you suggest for a tegu enclosure???

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Originally Posted by dylan815

Thanks for clearing that up. I'm about to start making a tegu enclosure and was going to use melamine........ What wood would you suggest for a tegu enclosure???

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I suggest using pvc if you can. And I should clear this up you can actually use melamine just not in direct contact with substrate. You can line the bottom with a pond liner or a tarp.

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Originally Posted by tegu

I suggest using pvc if you can. And I should clear this up you can actually use melamine just not in direct contact with substrate. You can line the bottom with a pond liner or a tarp.

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What exactly do you mean buy PVC? How spendy is it compared to melamine?

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Originally Posted by dylan815

What exactly do you mean buy PVC? How spendy is it compared to melamine?

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Pvc sheets. You can buy them at home depot. It is more expensive than melamine, in my area about $40 for a 3/4" 8x4 sheet. It won't hold enormous amounts of dirt needed for monitors but will hold enough for a tegu. However, it is water tight, and really light as well, which is why I suggest it.

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Originally Posted by tegu

Pvc sheets. You can buy them at home depot. It is more expensive than melamine, in my area about $40 for a 3/4" 8x4 sheet. It won't hold enormous amounts of dirt needed for monitors but will hold enough for a tegu. However, it is water tight, and really light as well, which is why I suggest it.

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Thank you very much, i will look into is as i'm going to be building the tank very soon.

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Originally Posted by dylan815

Thank you very much, i will look into is as i'm going to be building the tank very soon.

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Lol whatever you do just make sure it's water proof. I speak from experience.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...047c826eef.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...dce0f0f0da.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...61840ed7bb.jpg

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I apologize I did not realize that I did not, I guess pin the topic to see the replies lol. Most likely I am going to go with a Savannah monitor and from all the you tube videos and pics of enclosures I see they need a lot of dirt. I have read about the pawn linner so that would be something I will do as well.

I'm just getting all my info in line because once my guess room is empty again I will start making the enclosure. I do believe an 8x4x4 is a good size for Savannah' s so this is my goal. Thanks for all the advice.

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Do yourself a favor and shoot over here and thumb through the builds and info on here, this is where I got all my info for the Tegu cage. Insulating the cage will do wonders for keeping a stable environment.

http://www.varanustalk.com/cmps_index.php

http://savannahmonitor.co/